Visit of U.S. Delegation to Zanzibar Highlights Dramatic Drop in Illness After Introduction of the President’s Malaria Initiative | The U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Honorable Michael O. Leavitt (right), and the U.S. Ambassador to the United Republic of Tanzania, the Honorable Michael L. Retzer (left), participate in an indoor residual spraying campaign against malaria on the main island of Zanzibar, part of the United Republic of Tanzania, an activity funded by President Bush's Malaria Initiative. (August 25, 2007) (Photo by John Mallos, HHS) |
August 30, 2007 - A high-level delegation of U.S. government officials visited the main island of Zanzibar last Saturday, part of the United Republic of Tanzania, where U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), Michael O. Leavitt and the U.S. Malaria Coordinator, RADM Tim Ziemer (USN, ret.), participated in a community indoor residual spraying campaign supported through funding from President Bush’s Malaria Initiative (PMI). Along with the Zanzibari Minister of Health and Social Welfare, the Honorable Sultan M. Mughery, Secretary Leavitt and RADM Ziemer donned protective clothing and equipment before traveling to a small village to observe and participate in the spraying of insecticide on the walls of homes that had previously received insecticide-treated nets, also funded by PMI and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. Julie L. Gerberding, M.D., the Director of the HHS Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Honorable Kent Hill, Ph.D., Assistant Administrator for Global Health at the U.S. Agency for International Development, also joined the group. Indoor residual spraying and the distribution of long-lasting insecticide-impregnated bed nets are key components of the PMI. As a result of the integrated program for malaria control the government of Zanzibar has adopted with financing from the PMI and the Global Fund, the islands have seen a 90 percent reduction in malaria infections, and hospitals in Zanzibar are reporting a 30 percent drop in admissions. Malaria is the major killer for children under five in Tanzania, and it accounts for 45 percent of the total disease burden in Zanzibar. The U.S. government is the largest donor to the Global Fund, and has provided over $2 billion to the organization since 2002. Secretary Leavitt, Admiral Ziemer, and the U.S. Ambassador to the United Republic of Tanzania, the Honorable Michael L. Retzer, also met with the President of the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar, the Honorable Amani Abeid Karume. They thanked President Karume for his support for health activities, and reiterated the United States’ commitment to partnership with the people of Zanzibar. Afterwards, Zanzibari First Lady Shadya Karume hosted a lunch for the delegation and local people who are living with HIV/AIDS. The First Lady serves as an ambassador for the Zanzibar AIDS Control Program, and the guests discussed one of the greatest challenges to HIV prevention on the island: pervasive stigma and discrimination. In the afternoon, the U.S. delegation visited the Raha Leo Community Health Program in Stone Town, Zanzibar, a public-private, cost-sharing partnership between the Zanzibari Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and the Aga Khan Foundation. Raha Leo is classified as a "second-line dispensary" that serves a population of 12,690 residents in four urban communities. The U.S. officials observed a youth peer education session, and spoke with both the educators and young people about the program's activities. Through outreach campaigns, Raha Leo is mobilizing youth in the local community to participate in HIV/AIDS activities, including confidential testing. Before returning to mainland Tanzania, Secretary Leavitt, President Karume, Minister Mughery, and Ambassador Retzer participated in the formal hand-over of the Zanzibar Blood Center to the local government. The President’s Emergency Plan has already transferred six zonal centers on mainland Tanzania to the National Blood Transfusion Service (NBTS), and the HHS Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other partners helped to renovate the blood center building in Zanzibar as part of a strategic program to strengthen blood transfusion services in the entire country. The Zanzibar Blood Center is part of a larger effort in Tanzania to create a national blood transfusion system. The zonal centers are responsible for mobilizing, collecting, transporting, screening, storing, and distributing safe blood, and for ensuring the proper usage, as well as the development and sustainability of repeat, voluntary blood donors. In his remarks to the crowd of several hundred, Secretary Leavitt asserted that the new blood center, as with many other aspects of the President's Emergency Plan, "is bringing life, hope, and dignity" to the people of Zanzibar. For more information:
Last revised: September 07, 2007 | 
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